Hindu Mythology

Members: Alisa, Breanna, Josh

Introduction: India is a highly dense country flooded with colors and culture. India has a lot of people within it's boundaries, 1,147,995,904 as of July 2008. There and many religions in India, a few examples are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, and Sikh. Most of India is Polytheistic, meaning believing in more than one god. They follow many gods but the god that is very important is Rama. Rama is the god that was a role model to many people in India. He was born because of a sacrifice made by his father. Rama went on an extended journey over a period of many years. He is a noble man. He obeyed his father when he was told to live in the forest for fourteen years, he saved his wife from a demon king, and he fought a war to get her back. All this time, he stayed faithful to his wife through times of hardship. Rama is a god looked upon by the Indian culture as a very wise lord.
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Summary: Ramayana is the story of a very important god called Rama, who was a golden boy, like Apollo. King Dasaratha (ruler of Ayodhya) mad a sacrifice in order to have a son. He then was given a magical fruit, which he divided in half and to give to his eldest wife and one of his favorite wives. Both of these wives were fond a particular queen, so both gave her half of their fruit. After all the fruit dividing had ended, three different queens ended up with magical fruit. The two wives (the eldest and the favorite) each had a son and the favored queen (who the two original wives had given half of their fruit to) had two sons. The three queens had four sons (the favored queen had two sons) who all became great warriors and went off on different journeys. They all arrived at a place called Mithila where there was a big contest to see who should marry a girl named Sita, who was Laxmi reincarnated. The contest was that whoever could lift a very heavy bow won the marriage. Prince Rama (one of the sons) won easily. Rama and Sita were happily married. Rama and his beautiful wife went back to his home. As they arrived, they learned that one of the wives of King Dasaratha had two boons because she long ago saved the king from a tiger attack. She had saved the boons to use at another time, which she choose to use now. She uses the two wishes to make her son Bharat become king and to have Rama and his new wife banished to the forest for 14 years. Rama left, but Laxman (Sita's step brother), Sita and Bharat chose to go with him. Soon after Rama and his small group left, King Dasaratha died. The group lived in the forest for fourteen years, surviving on the fruit in the forest. Close to the time that the party was allowed to return home, Ravana's (a demon king) sister, Surpanakha, decided that she was in love with Rama and that she wanted to marry him. He refused and she thought it was because of Sita so Surpanakha tried to hurt her. Laxman cut off Surpanakha's nose and ears as punishment, and because of this, Surpanakha asked her brother, the demon king, to kidnap Sita. Ravana captured Sita by disguising himself as a beggar after Sita asked Rama to capture a small deer for her. While Rama was gone, Sita was captured by the demon king Ravana, who had 10 heads. A war occurred in order to get Sita back where she should be, with Rama. The group got help from a monkey king and his army in the war. After a long battle, Rama finally shot Ravana with a special bow and arrow borrowed from the gods and Ravana died. They come back home to rule Ayodhya, and they lived happily ever after. Rama and Sita are looked upon as "Mother Sita" and "Lord Rama". They are gods and goddesses worshiped in the Indian culture.
Image: http://www.maxwell.syr.edu/moynihan/Programs/sac/Outreach/ramayana/ramayana.jpg


Story Analysis:
The story of Ramayana is an epic novel and has many of the same characteristics as The Odyssey (see our class notes). It tells the story of an epic hero, Rama, on an extended journey over a period of many years. It was told to entertain, enlighten, and educate. Ramayana demonstrates how dangerous jealousy and greed can be. Although Rama is already married, Surpanakha still likes him and wants to marry him. Surpanakha is jealous of his wife Sita and feels that she is the reason that Rama doesn't want to marry her. It is her jealousy that leads her to try to hurt Sita. One of King Dasaratha's wives displays the greed of wanting her son to be king. When Rama returns with his wife she uses one of her boons to have him banished to the forest. However, this story also demonstrates the good that man is capable of. When Sita is captured, Rama and his family and friends put their lives on the line and are willing to wage a huge war just to get her back. Their love for others is enough to overcome their desire to be comfortable and safe. This story also involves feelings and reactions that we find almost impossible to control. When Surpanakha tries to hurt Sita, Laxman, Sita's step brother, cuts off her nose and ears as punishment for trying to hurt Sita. He loves his step sister and feels that it is his job to protect her, and although he is one of the heroes of this story, he does something out of anger that we would not consider a heroic act. This story, just like The Odyssey, showed people that even heroes have to deal with the same impulses, both positive and negative, as the rest of us.
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Culture Analysis: India and its culture is reflected in Ramayana, a Hindu mythology story, in many different ways. In the story of Rama, the environment and setting of India is said to be very lush and green. The characters in this epic are pictured to be eating fruit for their food much of the time. The small group of characters, consisting of Rama (god and king), Laxman (Sita's step brother), Sita (Rama's beautiful wife), and Bharat survive off of the forest for fourteen years. In Ramayana, there are monkeys and other animals pictured in the forest, one of the main settings of the story, which India supports. India today contains 2% of the worlds forest, all in a country only 1/3 the size of the USA, with many diverse creatures and plants living and growing in the forest. There are all different kinds of fruit and other natural resources, growing and thriving in the forest. If Ramayana were to take place in our time period, it would be very likely that the characters could live off the land of the forest just like they did at the time of this story. India is a country known for its many beliefs, many of which are reflected in Ramayana. The story of Rama gives us many clues about how a man is supposed to behave, how a king should act, and the ideal way to live your life. Rama, a prince since childhood, goes thought many tough struggles in his life before he can finally take his place as king. He must obey his fathers word and live in the forest for fourteen years, save his wife from a demon king, and fight a war to get her back. People in India read this epic and learn how to deal with struggles in life and how to overcome hardships, just like King Rama.
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Culture Comparison: Hindu mythology follows the characteristics of most popular mythologies. These mythologies influenced the civilization, culture, religion and their metamorphosis. We can draw parallels from how a natural phenomenon is a result of global changes. One impacts the other. Some similarities between Greek, Roman, and Hindu mythology is they each had a God for the forces of nature and power like Zeus-Greek God of Lightning, Demeter-Greek God for Mother Earth, Mars-Roman God of war, and Indra the Hindu God of thunder and rain. Sacrificial practices were the norm in all these cultures to appease the Gods. Ramayana is also like The Odyssey Ramayana is about a ordinary man who becomes a godly person and fights to protect his family just like Odysseus. Hindu mythology also has its own evolution that makes it unique, revolving mainly around the way things were in ASIA before the continental shift. Also in Hindu mythology they have different gods like Hanuman the monkey God-symbolizing strength and Lord Ganesha the Elephant headed God-Symbolizing good luck and concentration. The Hindu culture is based around the trinity; Shiva the destroyer of evil, Vishnu the preserver and protector of all creations, and Brahma the creator of all things living. Elements of nature, animals and the unseen forces, were what the early civilization revered. It is imminent that balance, sustenance and development of civilization was the symbolic of what was beyond human control.
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Conclusion: Overall, India is a very unique place on earth with it's many different and diverse cultures and it's many traditions. Many Indian people believe in many gods and they unique and bright love colors. Ramayana, the story of Rama is very similar to The Odyssey. India has very similar mythology like the Greek and Roman but they are still one of a kind. Indian culture and it's environment are reflected in Ramayana. The characters in the story of Rama are similar to people in real life India. The people of India read or hear about this epic and they learn how to deal with struggles in life. The story of Rama teaches people how to overcome hardships, similar to Rama. India follows many gods but the god that is very important is Rama. Hindu mythology follows the characteristics of most popular mythologies and it influences different things such as civilization, culture, religion and their metamorphosis. India in influenced by many different ideas, but one of the main ideas is the story of Rama, Ramayana.
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Sources:
"Hindu God's and Godesses." sanatansociety.org. 29 Sep 2008 <http://www.sanatansociety.org/hindu_gods_and_goddesses.htm>.

"The Story of Rama.." Tripod. Tripod. 29 Sep 2008 <http://members.tripod.com/~srinivasp/mythology/ramayana.html>.

Das, N.K.. "Cultural Diversity, Religious Syncretism and People of India: An ." 2003. Bangladesh Socialogy. 29 Sep 2008 <http://www.bangladeshsociology.org/bejs%203.2%20das.pdf>.

Lal, Vinay, and Anil Lal. "India." World Book Advanced. 2008. [Place of access.] 29 Sept. 2008